Method of making plaster-ground fabric



Sept. 26, 1939. A. MARTIN METHOD OF MAKING PLASTER-GROUND FABRIC Filed Feb. 2, 1938 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR &

Sept. 26, 1939. A. MARTIN 2,174,091

METHOD OF MAKING PLASTER-GROUND FABRIC Filed Feb. 2, 1938 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR Patented Sept. 26, 1939 METHOD OF My invention MAKING ms'ma-Gnmmb raaaro Archworth Martin, Pittsburgh, Pa. Application February 2, 1938, Serial No.188,283

relates to plaster-ground fabric structures comprising plaster reinforcing mesh, to the rear side of which is secured a backing sheet or form sheet, the fabric structure bein placed upon studding or other framework with the mesh outwardly and plaster or cement then applied against the same floors, ceilings, etc.

For convenience of handling it has been common practice backing sheet and unitary relation at heretofore employed in the forming of walls,

and installation, to assemble the the reinforcement mesh in the factory. The methods in assembling the backing sheet and the mesh have been somewhat expensive, owing to the fact that such operation has been performed either by the manual inserthe backing sheet to the mesh,

-tion of wire clips at various spaced points, to tie or by intermittently-operable mechanical means. In the latter case, the backin sheet cally advanced past a pause lacing wires or the the structure, each wire lying of the wire mesh Not only are such operations pensive, but in many tionable size are made and the mesh are periodigiven point, and at each like are threaded through partly in front and partly behind the paper.

tedious and exinstances holes of objecin the backing sheet during insertion of the sheet-retaining or tie elements.

One object of my invention method whereby reinforcement ing sheets of any tinuously and the is to provide a mesh and backlength can be advanced consheet attached to the mesh during said advancing movement.

Another object of my invention is to provide a plaster base structure of improved form wherein the backing sheet cessity of punching punching holes of objectionable is attached without the neholes therein, or without size.

Still another object of my invention is to provide a plaster base structure sheet is more efiectively held in wherein the backing position than in Some of the methods by which my invention may be practiced and the forms of fabric structure produced thereby panying drawings tudinal sectional view showing which the backing sheet may are shown in the accomwherein Figural-is a longione manner in be connected to the reinforcement mesh by means of a metal retaining strip; Fig.

2 is a longitudinal sectional view on an enlarged scale showing a portion of of a portion of the structure of Fig. 4; Fig. 7

is a sectional view of a portion of the completed fabric structure of Fig. 4; Fig. 8 is a side view, partly in section, showing another manner in which the backing sheet may be connected to the reinforcing mesh; Fig. 9 is a perspective view showing a portion of the completed fabric structure formed in the manner disclosed in Fig. 8; Fig. 10 is an enlarged view taken on the line X-X of Fig. 9; Fig. 11 is a view taken on the line XI-XI of Fig. 10; Fig. 12 is a view similar to Fig. 10 but showing a modification of the structure thereof, and which may be assembled in the manner shown in Fig. 8; Fig. 13 is a view taken on the line XIII-XIII of Fig. 12, and Fig. 14 is a view showing still another form of tie strip.

Referring first to Figs. 1, 2 and 3, the reinforcement mesh is shown as consisting of longitudinal wires I! that are welded to transverse wires l6. Sheet metal ribs ll are welded to the longitudinal wires l5 and serve not only to stiffen the fabric,

but as a means for producing a ribbed plaster structure, as will be hereinafter explained.

A backing sheet l8 of paper or other flexible material, which is approximately co-extensive in width with the wire mesh, is drawn from a supply roll I! past guide rolls 20 that serve to tension the paper, and between feed rollers 2| and 22 which are driven from any suitable source of power. Additional advancing movement is exerted upon the sheet 18 by soft-faced feed rollers 23 and 24, which also advance the mesh. A suitable number of metal tie strips 25 having tang elements 21 struck out therefrom, are drawn from reels 26, the tangs initially lying close to the strips so as to permit of their being wound upon the reels. The strips may be of light gauge to be projected outthe strips 25 pass over a guide roller 30, and the sheet I8 is thereby brought into engagement with the underside of the mesh.

The tangs, when they reach the plane of the reinforcement mesh, will be projected upwardly through the mesh openings at points adjacent to the transverse wires it of said mesh, and as they move past a bar 3| will thereby have their upper ends bent to right-angular position over the transverse wires. Thereafter, they will be engaged by bending dies or arms 32 (one for each strip) that are mounted on a shaft 33. Springs 34 serve to bias the dies 32 in a clockwise direction. When the bent tangs engage the longer arms of the dies 32, they will cause the said arms to be rocked in a counter-clockwise direction, thus causing the shorter legs of the dies to bend the ends of the tangs downwardly around the transverse mesh wires l6. Upon completion of this operation, the tangs thus bent will pass out of engagement with the dies and the dies will be swung by their springs back to the position shown in Fig. 1, ready to be engaged by other tangs. A rigidly-mounted guide or back-up plate 35 is provided for supporting the fabric members. against downward deflection under pressure of the bending dies 32. In cases where it is not desired that the plaster body have ribs formed on its rear side, the V-bars I! will be omitted.

The V-bars l1 not only serve as stiffening and spacing elements, but as reinforcing elements, and a fewer number of transverse wires IE will be requiredf or, if a suflicient number of the V- bars are used, the wires l6 may be omitted entirely, in which latter case the tangs 21 will be bent over the V-bars.

In Figs. 4 to '7 I show an arrangement wherein metal tie strips 38 are placed against the face of the mesh 38 and the tangs 31 thereof are pushed through the backing sheet 39 that is located at the rear side of the mesh. In this arrangement the members 35, 38 and 39 are advanced by feed-rollers 40, 4|, 42 and 43.

The tanged strips 36 are each drawn between a pair of rollers 44 and 45, and they initially have their tangs protruding from the edges thereof in the plane of the strips. Each roller 45 is provided with flanges 46 which extend alongside the ends of each roller 44, engage the tangs 31 and bend them at right angles to the planes of the strips. When the tangs approach the rollers 40 and 4|, they are pushed through the backing sheet and pass through circumferential grooves in the roller 4|.

Bending dies 41 are provided for bending the tangs behind the sheet 39, to hold the sheet in I place. Each die has a rounded or flared nose portion 48 whose sides are engaged by the tangs to guide them, so that the lower extremities of the tangs will be forced into engagement with curved die surfaces 49 that slope upwardly and outwardly in a direction away from the nose portion 48 and bend the tangs upwardly against overhanging ledges 50 carried by the upper part of the die, the bent portions of the tangs passing from under these ledges as the strip is carried past the die. The ledges or flanges 50 prevent tearing of the backing sheet 39 during bending of the tangs. An idle roller holds the strips 36 against springing upwardly when the tangs are being bent. When the tangs have been carried past the rollers 42 and 43 they will be bent upward snugly against the sheet, somewhat as shown in Fig. '7.

in position to 50. To hasten the cooling of In the structures of Figs. 1 to '7, expanded meta1 mesh may be employed instead of the strand and stay wire 'mesh l5-l6. Also other forms of tie strips may be employed in the structures of Figs. 1 to '7, as for example, the strip shown in Fig. 14 wherein the wires 36a correspond to the tie strip 35 and the prongs 31a correspond to the tangs 31.

Referring now to Figs. 8 to 11, I show another manner in which a backing sheet 52 may be applied to a reinforcing mesh 53. Sheet metal ribs 54 are welded to the longitudinal wires of the mesh or fabric 53. The backing sheet 52 is drawn from a supply roll 55 as the material is advanced. Rolls 58 and 51 are driven from any suitable source of power and are of yieldable material such as soft rubber. Additional driving, soft-faced rolls 58 and 59 also serve to advance the fabric and the paper sheet, all of the rolls being constantly driven. Retaining strips 60 of heavy paper or cloth tape, drawn from supply rolls 6|, are also passed between the feed rolls, so that they are drawn along with the mesh and the backing sheet. A suitable number of strips 60 will be provided to adequately hold the backing sheet against the mesh. The strips are coated on the under sides with an adhesive such as one of the water-proof glues well known on the market, the coating being effected by an idling roller 62 that extends into a glue tank 63 and is rotated by travel of the strips.

, Adhesive may also be along lines that will be 60. or in addition to the glue applied to the strips 60. The adhesive material applied to the sheet and the strips may be of the kind applied to the eo-acting sealing flaps of self-sealing envelopes. Adhesive of this kind can be pre-applied to the strips 60 and along predetermined lines on the backing sheet 52. Also, a cement or glue can be utilized which is soft only at high temperatures. In the latter case, a glue tank 54 will be positioned to discharge through spouts 55 to the backing sheet and a burner 65 or other heating element provided for liquefying the glue. The lines of glue discharged through the spouts 65 will remain soft until engaged by the strips the glue and hence the tenacity thereof, cooling air is supplied through a pipe 61 that extends transversely of the fabric and discharges jets of air through holes formed in its lower portion.

It will be understood that the rolls 56, 51, 53 and 59 in advancing the strips, the. mesh and the backing sheet, will press said elements snugly together, and that they, nevertheless, will be of sufficient softness to avoid flattening of the V- bars 54.

It will be seen that the fabric structure thus produced has no holes in its backing sheet, and that by reason of the presence of the V-bars 54, ribs of considerable thickness will be formed -on the rear side of the plaster which is applied to the fabric structure, and that the said ribs will add strength to the plaster structure, thus making it possible to apply a thinner coat of plaster at points between the ribs, where the sheet is held applied to the sheet 52 engaged by the strips in forwardly-deflected position. The V-bars besides spacingthe paper from the mesh at those points, also are embedded by the plaster and serve to reinforce the ribs formed thereon. The spacing of the transverse wires over which the strips 50 are laid is such that the strips can conven- The glue thus provided may be in lieu of:

iently be forced snugly into engagement with the sheet 52, throughout most of their areas, thus causing them to lie more smoothly and to have greater holding force than if they were attached to the backing sheet by mere spots of adhesive.

In Figs. 12 and 13 I show a structure which may be formed in substantially the same manner as the structure of Figs. 8 to 11. This second form differs from the first form merely in the omission of the V-ribs. It consists of a backing sheet 68 which, as in the case of Fig. 8, may be of paper, or other suitable fibrous material or a sheet of very fine mesh, such as screen cloth. The retaining strips 10 may also be of heavy paper or cloth tape. In any event, the sheet 68, mesh II and the tape III are fed between rollers in the same manner as shown in Fig. 8.

The flexibility of the tie strips shown in the various figures of the drawings will permit them to yield somewhat under trowel pressure, thus permitting better embedment of the reinforcement mesh in the plaster which is applied to the fabric base.

I claim as my invention:

1. The method of making a base for plastic material, which comprises continuously advancing reinforcement mesh and a backing sheet therefor, in superposed relation, simultaneously applying a tanged tie strip to the exposed face of the sheet and pushing the tangs through the sheet, and bending the projecting ends of the tangs against the exposed face of the mesh.

2. The method of making a base for plastic material, which comprises imparting advancing movement to a reinforcement mesh having portions disposed transversely of the path of movement, in conjunction with a backing sheet therefor, simultaneously applying a tanged tie strip to the exposed face of the sheet and pressing the tangs thereof through the sheet at successive points in front of the said transverse portions, bending the tangs backwardly over the said members, and advancing successive portions of the tie strip into assembled relation with the mesh and the sheet through pulling force transmitted from the transverse members to the tangs.

3. The method of making a base for plastic material, which comprises imparting advancing movement to a reinforcement mesh and a backing sheet, while applying a tanged tie strip to the exposed face of the sheet, pushing the tangs through the sheet and the mesh, and bending the ends of the tangs against the exposed face of the mesh, during said advancing movement.

4. The method of applying a backing sheet to reinforcing mesh having ribs projecting from one face thereof, which comprises'imparting continuous traveling movement to the sheet and the mesh, in a direction transverse to the ribs, while holding the sheet against the ribs and deflecting it toward the plane of the mesh at points between the ribs, and simultaneously applying tie strips in connected relationship with both the mesh and the sheet at said points.

5. The method of applying a backing sheet to reinforcing mesh having ribs projecting from one face thereof, which comprises imparting continuous traveling movement to the sheet and the mesh, in a direction transverse to the ribs, while holding the sheet against the ribs and deflecting it toward the plane of the mesh at points between the ribs, and simultaneously applying tie strips in connected relationship with both the mesh and the sheet at said ponts, the said strips extending in the same general direction of said movement.

6. The method of applying a backing sheet to reinforcing mesh having ribs projecting from one face thereof, which comprises imparting continuous traveling movement to the sheet and the mesh, in a direction transverse to the ribs, while holding the sheet against the ribs and deflecting it toward the plane of the mesh at points between the ribs, and simultaneously applying tie strips in connected relationship with both the mesh and the sheet at said points, the said strips extending in the same general direction of said movement, and being co-extensive in length with the mesh and the sheet.

aacrrwoa'nr MAR'I'IN. 

